Dive Brief:

• Principal evaluation systems are becoming more common, and districts will have to find ways to better support principals and help them respond to feedback.
• Currently, just 4% of the federal dollars available for professional development are spent on training school leaders, and many principals spend less than 2% of their time on professional development.
• Half of American states require some basic professional development to get a principal license renewed, but experts say there is a lot of room for improvement.

Dive Insight:

The focus of principal training has shifted from straight management to teaching and learning. More principals are responsible for observing teachers regularly and providing useful feedback to help them improve under reformed teacher evaluation systems.

“With all of the focus on teacher effectiveness and the high accountability associated with that, the principal’s role as learner and collaborator—someone who knows how to provide differentiated feedback and support to teachers—has become more important in recent years,” Ann Cunningham-Morris, director of professional learning at ASCD, told District Administration.

In response, some districts like Syracuse City School District, in New York, have started regular training for early career principals, intending to train them on effective instructional practices and observation.